 Fat Joe | Grandmaster Melle Mel  |
My history in rap is an open book. That's why I'm called contradictory. ’Cause I will punch you in your motherfuckin' face..
When attempting to interview Kris “KRS-One” Parker, 44, it helps to be a very good listener. Not just because the Teacha/Philosopher/Polemicist/Epistomologist/Methaphysician/MC has a tendency to talk a lot. But also because the Blastmaster chooses his words carefully, weighing them for maximum cranial impact. Hip hop’s head is still ringing from the blunt force trauma inflicted by Boogie Down Productions’ classic 1987 debut, Criminal Minded, on the now-defunct label B-Boy Records. The murder of his DJ Scott LaRock the following year did nothing to slow Kris Parker’s rise. On the contrary, he says, “Scott’s death propelled my career to the status it is today. Without death there is no life.”
KRS has proven to be a powerful and prolific solo artist, from his 1995 solo masterpiece, Return of the Boom Bap (Jive), to more recent efforts like 2006’s Life (Image) and 2007’s Hip Hop Lives (Koch), a collaboration with Marley Marl of the Juice Crew that resolved the epic Bronx vs. Queens “Bridge” battle. His most recent release, Survival Skills (Duck Down), a collaboration with Buckshot of Black Moon fame, is set to drop August 25 on Duck Down Records. The album features production by Havoc of Mobb Deep, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, and newcomers Marco Polo, Moss, Coptic, Khrysis, and Ill Mind. Lead single “Robot” offers a scathing critique of hip hop’s recent Auto-Tune addiction. Still relevant after a quarter century of rapping, KRS brings a unique historical perspective to the discussion. “This ain’t a dis to nobody’s art / ’Cause Afrika Bambataa really gave it the start / You go back in the history of rap man / And you’ll see classic jams like ‘Planet Rock’ and ‘Pac Man’ / Go online, look up Kraftwerk / Half of what we’re doing is past work…”
VIBE caught up with KRS inside Just Blaze’s Roc the Mic studios in Midtown New York City, where he was working on a self-produced album Self Construction—featuring The Game, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Redman, Method Man, Nelly, and many more—to be released this year to mark the 20th anniversary of the movement he launched in 1989 with the all-star rap single “Self Destruction.” During a break in the recording session, while waiting for Cassidy to come in and lay down his verse, the Teacha spoke and we listened.
VIBE: What are you working on today?
KRS-One: The project we’re working on today is called Stop the Violence Movement. The Stop the Violence movement started in 1989 with a record called “Self Destruction.” It was produced by D-Nice and the chorus was done by Doug E. Fresh. It was an all-star record, and the idea was to tell the streets explicitly that it’s not cool to shoot your brother down—simple and plain. And we got together the loudest voices. Not just dudes that normally speak for peace like Public Enemy, KRS, Stetsasonic, Heavy D. But we wanted other voices. We wanted Just-Ice on there as well. You don’t always want to hear from those who are already with a peace stance in their life. It’s sort of like you’re preaching to the choir. A Stop the Violence movement is about bringing those who are aggressive into the fold of peace.
People can look at it like, What the hell are they doing? if I say I wanna do this record and have T.I. on the record or have 50 Cent or Fat Joe on the record. Like, “Yo, these guys are promoting guns and this, that, and the other.” And my response would be, this is exactly who we want on the record. Because these guys, as men, recognize what we’re doing. They don’t want guns in school themselves. They don’t want their ’hood—so to speak—shot up, burned out. They don’t want it themselves. When I speak to 50, T.I., these are intelligent people. You don’t get where they are just by spitting your lyric. You gotta be smart about what you’re doing. So I wanna bring that out. You may see 50 Cent as this—but in the Stop the Violence movement, which is real hip hop, here’s what 50 Cent is about. It’s not that I want him to say, “I’m putting down my guns for the Stop the Violence movement.” No. But what you could say is “I’m gonna do me, but I’m gonna support this right here, ’cause this is for the community.” You know what his power is in the community. Lend your power to the community. Same thing with T.I. We all know about the gun charge that he’s gone through. How powerful is it for him to come out and tell his story? T.I. respects that. Fiddy respects that. Snoop Doog respects that. Gang members respect that. Crips, bloods, Eses. Everybody.
The song is a symbol of our community coming together for peace, but the real movement is dudes actually stepping up for peace and saying, “I’m gonna resolve my conflicts nonviolently. I’m gonna squash the beefs in my life.” So I had to be the first one. That’s why Nelly’s on the record. We ran up on each other at the VH1 Awards and it wasn’t guns out. And we were battling before—we goin’ at it. But Nelly is a man at the end of the day, and a father on top of that. He came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and was like, Yo, Wassup? And I shook his hand like Wow, here we are. Here I am. Here’s Nelly. We don’t like each other until our children are at stake. Until the preservation of hip hop is at stake. So we got together. I voiced, he comes on right after me.
Who else is on the record?
Redman, Busta, Ne-Yo does the hook, Styles P, Talib Kweli, Rah Digga, Meth, Wise Intelligent, and we’re looking for more. There’s a Latino Stop the Violence coming together. I’m really eager to hear that one. I was talking to Mona Scott about Missy Elliott’s involvement. We suggested that she does the female Stop the Violence record. We put out a single in ’89, now we’re gonna put an album out—14 records with several all-star collaborations.
Every time I spit my rhyme, you gon’ get peace, you gon get knowledge, you gon’ get love, you gonna get wisdom, understanding. Even when I'm battling, I'm spitting out peace love knowledge and lettin’ you know what I represent and lettin’ you know why I'm battling you. So when I walk down the street, when Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone walks down the street, dudes with gats in they waist are like, Yo that's the teacha. Damn. Put that down. Jus’ cool, Rasta. Jus’ ease, mon. They fixin’ they collar. And I say that humbly. I'm only telling you what happens when a man of peace walks down the street.
But how do you represent peace when you had hand grenades on your first album cover?
My history in rap is an open book. That's why I'm called contradictory. ’Cause I will punch you in your motherfuckin' face. And I ain't got no problem. I'm quick with it, too. I love to fight. I love it ’cause of my height and stuff and build. I love fighting. I'll beat motherfuckers down all day. And did. Now the point of the matter is this: When you stand on peace, the community don't even see your violence. KRS-One is probably the most violent artist in rap music's history. I kick more ass literally in this culture than any rapper out. Challenge me.
I’ll pass.
We ran up on all crews. Okay? ’Cause there was an element of our own community that rejected peace and said, “We don't care about peace. We selling these drugs, we busting this gat, that's how we doing it.” Now what happened was KRS went up against these dudes. Like, Wait a minute, now you're off the stage. I'm rolling up on you, battling you. Getting this done. So people said I'm contradictory. But I'm a humble teacha, I'm a peacemaker. I'm trying to show you “You Must Learn” and ask you “Why Is That?” I'm trying to give you “Stop the Violence.” Now you gon' front? You gonna step to me like I'm some punk? The man of peace doesn't really even have to raise his hand. The people will... [Laughs] You talk about violence? You come up against a man of peace, a man of God that the people respect? The man of peace doesn't have to do anything to you. It's gonna be the people. They're gonna come and say dude, here's how it's goin down, right here!
That's what we were building in 1989. We were building that image. And I wasn't the only one. X-Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers, Queen Latifah. All the Lords—Lord Shadik, Lord Finesse, Lords of the Underground. Brand Nubian. I could go on and on. There was all kinds of groups that were coming out saying, Look, we're about peace. We're moving in unity. But there was this other group that was like, “Aww that peace bullshit.” And I’m like, What did you say?! What's in your pockets? HAHAHA!
See I'm from Brooklyn, raised in the Bronx, lived in Manhattan and Harlem all my life. I don't wanna hear nothin’. If we out here trying to save our kids and doing what we supposed to do, why are you trying to stand in front of us and trying to prevent us from doing it? Whether it's with a rhyme, whether it be physical, whether it's in business. Why are you stopping us from saving our kids? You deserve to get your ass kicked.
Press play to watch KRS-One & Marley Marl's "Hip-Hop Lives"
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